Great Speaking Voices

[Stillhomewardbound]

Aside from being a wonderful actor, and by god he was, Robert Stephens had what I would describe as a 'catch' in the voice. It's a phrase I use a lot and it describes something irregular in the cadence that is different to most voices. Sometimes that can be a negative, for example, in the sense of people that have an overly nasally quality, or they speak too far from the back of the mouth.

When it comes to Stephens I can almost hear the set of the teeth, the way he supports the mouth, and there's no doubt that he never entirely shed his bristolian cadence. It was well tempered by his time at the Royal Court and Olivier's Old Vic, but it was there nonetheless.

A very, very sweet and kind man, but a rogue and a drinker, oh!

[ahinton]

The best of them all, by a country mile - Kenneth Williams.

How many kilometres is a country mile? Kenneth Williams indeed had what one might almot describe as a virtuoso voice in tems of the manifold ways in which he could manipulate it with never the slightest compromise in clarity of diction.

[ahinton]

I vaguely remember him, but he's a bit before my time

Not quite before mine, sadly; he always sounded to me as though he was reading the news...

[amateur51]

How many kilometres is a country mile? Kenneth Williams indeed had what one might almot describe as a virtuoso voice in tems of the manifold ways in which he could manipulate it with never the slightest compromise in clarity of diction.

Fascinating and entertaining the first time one encountered it in an evening but it could become tedious and repetitive to my (duff) ears. As Williams often said of someone else, naturally "Oh shut your bleedin' row!"

[amateur51]

Not quite before mine, sadly; he always sounded to me as though he was reading the news...

Kenneth Horne managed to sound equidistant between the Beeb formality of Douglas Smith and the verbal anarchy of Williams, Paddick and Marsden in my view - a vital ingredient

[Alain Maréchal]

Ian Carmichael (as Lord Peter Wimsey)

Edward Petherbridge in the same role, and two of his RSC colleagues from the 1980s:
Richard Easton
John Carlisle

and the Sage of Blackheath, over on the Movie quiz, has just mentioned Charles Laughton - has he cropped up?

[Nick Armstrong]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKdJZbRParA

(Kenneth Horne himself deserves to go "on the list".)

I vaguely remember him, but he's a bit before my time

As Radio 3 becomes ever more idiotic, I increasingly turn to Radio 4extra for some blasts from the past (though not my past, like Beefy, it's a bit before my time) - Round the Horne is a regular on the schedule, usually with three transmissions of an episode on a Monday:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mlxk1

Some are better than others (last week's was poor) but the "Julian & Sandy" spots are unfailingly good, with Mister Horne ("He's bold, you know") getting it in the neck from Williams and Paddick

[PJPJ]

for Roger Allam. What a voice.

May I add Anthony Quayle to the list? And Kenneth Horne.

Some years ago I attended a midday drinks party with art exhibition and heard from across the large and busy room an instantly recognisable voice doing party chit-chat. Patricia Hughes. Wonderful......

I meant to say Kenneth Horne's voice in Much Binding was especially rich, which then reminded me about one of the most versatile voices in radio history, Maurice Denham's.

[Flay]

Nobody has mentioned Michael Gambon yet!

[amateur51]

for Roger Allam. What a voice.

May I add Anthony Quayle to the list? And Kenneth Horne.

Some years ago I attended a midday drinks party with art exhibition and heard from across the large and busy room an instantly recognisable voice doing party chit-chat. Patricia Hughes. Wonderful......

I meant to say Kenneth Horne's voice in Much Binding was especially rich, which then reminded me about one of the most versatile voices in radio history, Maurice Denham's.

And 'Stinker' Murdoch and Sam Costa.

Robert Robinson had a distinctive voice, as does Clive anderson when he's being (largely) serious on Unreliable Evidence

On the Light programme/Radio 2 John Dunne and back on R4 John Timpson and Jack de Manio .. " and the time .. now ... is a quarter-to ... no it's not ... a quarter PAST seven"

(sounds of anguished shouts and bedcovers being thrown back in a hurry across the land, and then exasperated cursing in a variety of dialects

[Ferretfancy]

Mention of Pat Hughes reminds me of her predecessor Joy Worth, who had a voice like velvet. She was a singer in a girl group before her Third Programme days, I have a CD of them singing " Anything Goes"

[Rue Dubac]

James Mason - always slight trace of Yorkshire in the velvet.
Anna Massey
Lady whose name escapes me who does the Panda Pregnancy News on PM on R4
Richard Burton's voice was heart-stoppingly beautiful. He had a whole male voice choir in there. Unrivalled in twentieth century, IMHO.
David Warner - sadly not around for his brilliant Stratford youth, but memorable Blifil in Tom Jones. Moving Lear at Chichester some years ago, and some recent appearances on R4 - the voice has aged well.

[Dai Cottomy]

Going back a bit here - wartime announcers: John Snagge, Bruce Belfrage, Alvar Lidell (mentioned earlier) Frank Phillips

Other Radio Voices: Daphne Oxenford (Listen with Mother), Valentine Dyall (Appointment With Fear) David Davis (Children's Hour)

[salymap]

I sat behind Alvar Lidell at a G&S performance in the Savoy Theatre years ago. He was quietly explaining the story of Mikado to his children and I thought someone had a radio on.

Slightly surreal and Churchill wasin the audience, so 'I've got a little list' was directed at him.

Has he been mentioned- quite a voice


EDIT.On reflection it was the 1951 Festival of Britain year when Sargent and a lotof the older G&S members went back to their beginnings.

[Stillhomewardbound]

Salymap! Oh, such anecdotage. Marvellous!

Churchill's oratory is really what we celebrate. His voice was a wonderfully crustaceous patina on his utterances, but the wartime spirit he evinced might now have been so persuasive had he taken to the reciting the pages of the phone book.

I'm surprised more haven't mentioned Gielgud. 'A silver trumpet muffled in silk' as Alec McGuinness described it.

Bruce Belfrage, vis Dai Chotomy, (his son Julian Belfrage, my dad's agent for over twenty years) was the BBC announcer reading the nighttime news bulletin at Broadcasting House when it received a direct hit during a Luftwaffe air raid. It was a bloody close thing but Belfrage continued with bulletin. Quite right too.

John Snagge - When they were recording the radio adaptations of 'Dad's Army' the producers had the very good idea of having Snagge as the announcer who preceded each episode with a mis en scene news bulletin.

'... and now here is the news, and this is John Snagge reading it'. Well, I wasn't around in those days but I can well imagine how such voices gave the populace great courage. They were stern and bold, but in the manner of a caring uncle.